


The Way We Get By

by jamminundertale



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: 100-ish word drabbles a day, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, I SWEAR I HAVE A PLOT, It's in effect I can't help myself, Slow Burn, This fic is basically total self indulgence, and detailed, and how much time i have to write before the day ends, and make things more realistic, and not have a whole bunch of random garbage tags like i do now lmfao, and really hone in on the important things, and start being more realistic with my chapters, based on my own comic, basically this is kind of a train wreck that's still trying, because I said so, i live vicariously through my characters bye, i'm just trash, it's fine, it's outlined in my notes!, it's really gonna depend on my mood of the day, just to get myself to write, more tags will come as i upload, no 1 pov, one day i might rewrite the entire thing in proper fic form, sansby - Freeform, since i can't help myself apparently, so just go along with all the unrealistic garbage lmfao, that connect, that i never finished because i can't draw, trying to reign the plot back in, unrealistic cuddles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:23:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22098343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamminundertale/pseuds/jamminundertale
Summary: One of the skeleton brothers' gets injured in an accident that causes them to lose their house. They need to find a new home, but it might take a while with the one of them injured. The two crash at a friend's house while one heals and the other hustles to save up money. Their story is only just beginning.100-??? word drabbles a day | Based on a comic I never finished | Sansby (officially decided)
Relationships: Grillby/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 28





	1. Always Choose Sleep

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Handle With Care](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18676624) by [Catsitta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catsitta/pseuds/Catsitta). 

> Flambé
> 
> adjective  
1.  
(of food) covered with liquor and set alight briefly.

Flakes of snow fluttered in the small, cozy town of Snowdin, the gentle patter upon windows soothing the townfolk into a comfortable lull. The quiet atmosphere made for a perfect day to cuddle up next to the fire and doze off... or work with the promise of no interruptions.

Normally, Sans fit into the category of dozing the day away (especially when supposed to be working). Today, though, Sans resided in his basement, alone, beakers clinking and liquid pouring into glass, a stark contrast against the silence. His goggles were askew and fogged, labcoat wrinkled and painted with splotches of colorful chemicals, and feet firmly planted in his soft, warm slippers.

The door being kicked in nearly gave Sans a heart attack.

"SANS!" Papyrus stormed in. In one hand, to Sans's horror, was a flame torch. In the other, a normal plate of spaghetti. "I HAVE LEARNED HOW TO FLAMBÉ! LOOK!"

A gloved finger pressed a button as a skeletal hand shot out.

_"wait!"_

The house blew up in flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I realize that this technically isn't flambé, but I'm just going to say that Papyrus, ever the terrible cook that he is, doesn't know what he's doing. Either way, Sans had many toxic chemicals out, and we're just going to pretend that the fire being lit near it is what causes the house to blow up. IDK what exactly would make that happen, but... shhh. Creative license or whatever.)
> 
> A friend gave me an idea for a comic a while back. I sketched out the entirety of my first idea (which is now this first chapter), but I'm not exactly the best artist and I never went back to fix it. I read another fanfiction that has EXACTLY 100 words per chapter a day (Handle with Care by Catsitta) and I became inspired to give myself the same challenge. I'm not the best at keeping up with deadlines, or with continuing my own stories and whatnot, as I get burnt out quite easily, so I'm giving myself the goal to just try and write a hundred (ish) words a day for this story to better myself with this problem of mine. I want to be more motivated and more successful. Hopefully, focusing on writing just a little tiny bit a day, without the pressure of feeling like I need to write thousands of words per chapter, will help me be more focused.
> 
> Happy New Year everybody. I hope I stick to this goal of mine and I hope you enjoy whatever it is I end up creating and posting. Thank you for reading, I hope to post again in 24 hours.


	2. The Collapse of it All

Smoke swirled and billowed, rising into the underground's atmosphere and rolling away in waves. Debris scattered the remains of the brothers' floor and further onto the snowy path of Snowdin Town.

The mostly cleared smoke revealed a sphere of tightly packed bones surrounding Sans and Papyrus's right arm flung out in his direction. Soot covered Papyrus's face and hunched over body. The bones disappeared; Sans had not single a smudge on him.

Papyrus's panting alerted Sans out of his dazed state, snapping his skull up just in time to see Papyrus crumble to the ground.

"pap!" Sans rushed over and skidded on his knees beside his brother, bundling him up in his arms. "pap, hey, look at me. p-pap, wake _up!"_ Sans pleaded, lightly patting Papyrus's cheeks. He gripped Papyrus's skull in both hands, looking into the lifeless sockets.

_"papyrus!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie, look at me go, ending both chapters so far with Sans exclaiming something dramatically. (Well, at least the last chapter had an added sentence).
> 
> Sorry, I just love being dramatic! Sans is freaking out. Will our dear Papyrus be okay?! (Of course he will, he's Papyrus.)
> 
> My energy is just not what it used to be. Writing thousands and thousands of words a day used to come easy to me. Now I focus too hard on wording and if something sounds right or realistic. It makes me get insane writer's block. I only posted one chapter so far, and writing this second chapter was insanely difficult!
> 
> Here's to hoping that it will get a little easier every day and that I will stick to it. These end notes will be shorter from now on (probably).
> 
> One thing I'm going to try to stick to is making sure each chapter has a number of words that ends with ZERO. If the numbers don't look pretty then what's the point lol. 
> 
> Thank you to those who commented and gave kudos! It seriously motivated me to continue, despite my constant uphill battle with writing lately. I appreciate you readers greatly. Getting feedback so quickly after posting on this website is absolutely fantastic and heartwarming. I hope you enjoyed, and I hope to see you in another 24 hours. <3


	3. He's Fine, Everybody! (Sort Of)

Naturally, the commotion brought a lot of eyes onto the scene. Residents of Snowdin gathered around the remains of their favorite skeleton brothers' house, murmurs of concern filling the silence as the passersby effect caused them all to stand around uselessly.

That was, of course, until Grillby showed up, flames rising high, crackling and popping with rapidly changing shades of colors. Upon noticing his favorite regular patron, Grillby's flames calmed significantly as he stepped into the rubble, the small fires on the ground disappearing as he crossed it.

A warm hand dropped onto the quivering skeleton's shoulder as Grillby knelt on the ground beside Sans. He didn't even flinch; he continued to rock Papyrus in his arms, murmuring pleas for his younger brother to wake up.

"Sans," Grillby spoke, voice a deep, gravelly rumble.

"he's hurt, pap's hurt and i'm- i don't-..." Sans rambled, unable to free his thoughts coherently.

Grillby squeezed Sans's shoulder and released him, instead taking interest in the unnerving sight of a silent, unmoving Papyrus (he was used to seeing Sans falling asleep on his bar, but he'd never seen Papyrus be quiet or still for too long).

Normally, it was rude to CHECK someone outside of an encounter. In this case, Grillby thought, with Sans too distraught and in shock to do anything himself, it was justified for Grillby to take matters into his own hands.

Relief flooded him, his flames finally dropping back to a mostly normal pace and color, and Grillby gently shook Sans. "He is alright, Sans. Check him. His injuries are not good... but his HP isn't too low and right now he is merely asleep. He should wake up soon. It's all going to be okay, Sans."

Maybe it was something about Grillby's deep, calming voice, or maybe it was the information being given to Sans that finally snapped him out of his shock. He glanced up at Grillby cautiously, took a deep breath, and willed himself to CHECK Papyrus.

*** PAPYRUS**  
*** 304/680 HP**  
*** Took a bad hit but will recover. Happy that he saved his brother.**

Sans laughed deliriously and sagged against Grillby in relief, who in turn carefully wrapped his arms around Sans, keeping him upright. Sans kept Papyrus in his lap, although his grip on him relaxed. "thank stars," Sans whispered, eye sockets squeezed shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy... nearly 400 words?! Time to change the summary. I guess you're all going to get whatever I decide to crank out at the time. I just can't lose the flow or certain words... I'd rather have a fluctuating word count than posting bad quality content because IDK how to shorten things.
> 
> It's funny, I dreaded even opening the document to begin writing the third chapter, but once I did, I somehow managed to crank out nearly 400 words... WTF. I guess it IS slowly getting easier.
> 
> Thank you to those who have been reading and commenting, it makes me happy every single time I get a comment or a kudos and it motivates me to continue. You're the best. <3
> 
> An alternate title for this chapter was: Enter Grillby  
but it became too long so... 
> 
> BTW, I made a [Tumblr](https://jamminundertale.tumblr.com/). Check it out!
> 
> (BTW 2 Google sucks and wouldn't give me a real picture of how CHECKing works in Undertale so I decided to just make what suited me. There's gonna be a lot of BS made up in this fic as we move onward because I'm too lazy to research things lmao.)
> 
> Thanks for reading! See you soon!


	4. Why Are You Still Sitting There? Get a Move On!

Grillby allowed Sans to revel in his relief for what felt like about a few minutes when he finally gave him a gentle shake. "We should probably get out of this rubble, and get Papyrus somewhere safe to rest."

"...the inn?" Sans quietly asked, shifting out of Grillby's arms and carefully manuevering Papyrus with him. He ended up with his rear end firmly planted on the ground.

"I can pick him up, if you like."

"...be careful, ok?"

"I will, I promise."

"Are you okay?" Grillby sat beside Sans on the plush couch, having just finished getting Papyrus settled in bed and wiping off some of the soot that covered nearly every inch of his body. He healed noticeable injuries, but now it was just a matter of time before Papyrus would come to. The blow to his head must be the only thing keeping him from waking.

Sans stared at the crackling fire in the fireplace, blinking slowly. "...yeah. just..." He faltered, then huffed a laugh. "y'don't need me spillin' my guts or anything. but, uh... thanks. for helping. and for getting him here safely. i, pfft- i was totally useless back there. i owe you."

"No, you don't. You were in shock, Sans... It's okay. ...If you still feel obligated to pay me back, all I ask is that you take care of yourself. That's just as important as helping Papyrus." Grillby said firmly. "...I'll cover the Inn bill-"

"no, grillbz, you don't gotta do that..."

"I want to. Just tonight's, at the very least. I insist."

"...ok."

Grillby smiled to himself, some built up tension draining from his shoulders. "You should stay here with Papyrus. I will go and... collect anything still standing," He said as gently as possible.

Sans grimaced. The air hung heavy with the weight of Sans's apparent internal struggle. "...you don't have to, but... you're right that i should stay with paps. i don't want 'im wakin' up worried. if you have anythin' better to do, really... i can take it from here. i'm not- i won't be useless this time."

"...I promise you, I have nothing better to do. I want to help as much as I can," Grillby laid a gentle hand on Sans's shoulder, noting the way he immediately leaned into the touch. "It's okay to need help, Sans..."

"...thanks," His voice cracked on the whisper and he closed his eye sockets with a sigh. "...maybe... don't leave right now?" He sounded so small, as though he expected Grillby to reject him.

If Grillby wasn't made of literal fire, he would have melted. "...Of course. There is time."

If Sans somehow ended up snoozing in Grillby's arms for the next hour or so, neither of them would mention it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would simply like to inform you all that while writing the second half of this chapter my brain was repeatedly screaming "SCREAM AND SHOUT AND LET IT OUT- BRITTNEY B*TCH- SAYIN OOHHH WEE E OHHHWEEOHEEOH". I've gone partially insane.
> 
> I know the Inn shown in the game is rather small. But IDC. For the Ultimate Feels I needed a couch and a warm fireplace. Sans is still a bit of a wreck despite what he says. 
> 
> Also apparently I can't resist Sansby. IDK what I'm doing. My writing is basically all trash self indulgence at this point. I almost hit 500 words with this one lmao (460 words total).
> 
> Speaking of which, the last chapter was 390 words, but for whatever the reason the total amount of words got screwed? And IDK why?! It's pissing me off but I can't be bothered to fix it.
> 
> Anyway it's nearly 4AM and school is finally starting back up. Time to suffer. I fell asleep for two hours and then woke up and finished writing this. You're welcome.
> 
> Here's my [Tumblr](https://jamminundertale.tumblr.com/). Ask questions if you have any. Thank you all for reading, see you soon. <3


	5. HE LIVES! (That was Known, But Still)

Hours passed with Sans sitting alone on the Inn room couch, watching and waiting for Papyrus to wake up. Grillby had left to look for salvageables in the rubble that was Sans and Papyrus's house and Sans tried not to worry about it. He didn't have the energy to insist for Grillby to not help, and based on his weak attempts, anyway, he doubted he ever would have convinced Grillby.

Sans's snoring filled the silent room (besides for the crackling fire), his head tilted at an awkward angle against the armrest.

"S-Sans...?"

Sans jumped awake in at instant (which would never normally happen), his neck making a sickening crack at the sudden movement. "pap?"

"Hi."

Sans fled to his side in an instant.

"Um... Where Are We?"

"the inn, bro."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 130 word count. Hi, currently 6 minutes from midnight. These updates are going to be between 5-11:59pm EST instead of 5am from now on lmao. Blame school starting back up.
> 
> This chapter is real short and ends abruptly (sorry) and I still don't know where I'm going with this story but it's Fine. it's fine. it's just for Writing. I don't really have much of a plot planned. Oh well.
> 
> Thanks for reading as always! Hope to see you next time. I have a tumblr, but as it's nearly midnight and I wanna post this to keep my streak, I don't have the time to spare RN to get the link. It's in previous chapters, though, if you're interested! Bye <3


	6. Mad Lad

The conversation with Papyrus didn't exactly go... well. That was to say the least.

The second Papyrus realized that it was his fault the house burned down (Sans didn't believe it was his fault, how would he have known to not use the blow torch right then?), he burst into tears and apologized profusely to Sans.

Sans, to his credit, tried to calm him down- but Papyrus didn't listen one bit. In fact, his sobbing turned into a way-too energetic tangent about how he was going to fix everything and 'put the house back together'.

Sans couldn't stop Papyrus from jumping out of bed and sprinting out of the Inn. Sans warped through a shortcut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow okay i ran out of time for this one so it's real short. might fix it tomorrow lmao. thanks for reading and commenting and giving kudos and bookmarking a nd subscribing! i appreciate it so so much! <3
> 
> tumblr is the same name as this account


	7. Coming Up with BS on the Spot is a Talent

Sans appeared in front of their (ruined) house just in time to see Papyrus skid to a stop near their fallen over mailboxes. He cringed as he watched the shock appear on Papyrus's face. The shock melted into sorrow; an expression that Sans had to avert his gaze from or else he might truly dust.

"Gril-GRILLBY? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TRAMPLING THE REMAINS OF OUR BELONGINGS?"

Sans's head snapped up, quickly glancing between brother and bartender. Grillby held a small box under his arm.

"pap, he's helping find anything still usable. it's ok."

Papyrus looked between Sans and Grillby (one looking calm and the other looking... more fiery), an unreadable expression on his face for a terrifying, unnerving moment. "OH. WELL, THAT IS A JOB THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN CERTAINLY HANDLE! HERE, GRILLBY," Papyrus held out his arms. "I CAN TAKE IT FROM HERE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP, BUT YOU ARE NOT NEEDED ANYMORE."

Grillby stared at Papyrus. Sans and Grillby exchanged looks. Sans stepped closer to Papyrus.

"uh, pap... you should- what if we have a slumber party at the inn? it's getting late, we can worry about the house tomorrow..." Sans glanced at Grillby and the surrounding area. "besides, looks like grillbz already got most of what was left. right?" Grillby nodded once. "right. this rubble isn't goin' anywhere. it'll be fine."

Papyrus frowned, looking between Sans and Grillby, seeming torn by the decision. "...A SLUMBER PARTY...?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment below if you think they should have a slumber party! Papyrus would definitely force Grillby to be a part of it. If no slumber party, Papyrus's only option is to FIX THE DARN HOUSE. (He's a bit reckless. Take care of your health, Papyrus!)
> 
> Also wow writing is hard. Especially when you start trying to beat a midnight deadline every night at like 11:30pm LMFAO. My descriptions have gone down the tubes but it'll be fine. This is like... a first draft fic xD
> 
> Alright, thanks as always to everyone reading, commenting, giving kudos, bookmarking, and subscribing! You're all great! I seriously appreciate it. <3 
> 
> See you next time!


	8. Slumber Party?

It didn't take much convincing. Papyrus loved any chance to have fun.

In fact, the fun-loving skeleton sprinted all the way back to the Inn; Sans couldn't have stopped him even if he tried. He didn't know how Papyrus had so much energy right now, but he could only hope that Pap wouldn't crash hard again.

Sans took his chance in that moment to apologize to Grillby and let him know he didn't have to tag along, that he'd already done enough and Sans would cover for him if he had to.

Grillby only shook his head and said he would be stopping at the bar to grab some food, and that Sans could go ahead and he'd be there soon.

Now, the odd trio sat in the cozy-yet-small-for-three-people Inn room, food and snacks surrounding them on the bed as a movie played on the TV above the fire place. Papyrus, of course, hadn't been happy about the greasy food that Grillby brought, but he was easily placated when Grillby pulled out some extra treats he bought from the Shop specifically for Papyrus.

Sans sat between the two, and when he'd finished the food Grillby had brought him, he promptly dozed off where he sat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday, yay. I got terrible sleep last night, so I'm exhausted right now... this took way too long to produce to be trash lol. Dialogue tends to be quite difficult for me on a GOOD day, so I just couldn't get anything down today. But I'm going to try and write some cute slumber party dialogue stuff tomorrow! I have some ideas, I just couldn't execute them right now. author.exe has stopped working, lol.
> 
> I tried to get the boring bits out of the way, anyway, so I could try and write some good stuff tomorrow. Thanks for reading! I can't believe I've managed to post every day so far... that's why I'm determined to post even if I know I didn't have the energy to make something good. But it is getting easier to write, which is nice! I sort of want to start a full fanfic, like separately, to post on this account... y'know, something I actually take my time with and show off my Good Writing Skills That I Swear I Have just to have something else to work on. 
> 
> The only thing about that is needing an idea LMAO.
> 
> OK, thanks again for reading! You're all great. My Tumblr is under the same username. Bye!! <3


	9. Now it's a Slumber Party

"SANS- You Are Hogging The Blanket!"

"my bad."

"...SANS, YOU ARE STILL HOGGING THE BLANKET."

Grillby laughed.

Sans grinned. "sorry."

When Sans still didn't move, Papyrus groaned in frustration. "SAAAAAAAAANS..."

"ok, ok. movin'." Sans inched over at a snail's pace, lifting the blanket painstakingly slowly. Papyrus began a drawn out whine that increased in pitch the longer Sans took.

Sans ended up choking on a wheezy laugh from trying too hard to keep his cool. He devolved into laughter and finally fully moved, giving Papyrus enough of the blanket. "s-sorry, bro," he wheezed.

Papyrus huffed loudly. "IT IS FINE, BROTHER. I STILL LOVE YOU!"

Sans cracked again, snorting with laughter. "love you too, bro."

Sans glanced at Grillby; he glowed brightly with amusement. Sans's grin softened, happiness filling the air in the small Inn room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S ALMOST MIDNIGHT HERE. I actually really like this scene xD 
> 
> I thought it'd be cute and I think I'm right. HECK YEAH.
> 
> Alright, thanks for reading as always! I appreciate it greatly!
> 
> Send an ask on my Tumblr if you have any questions or you just wanna say hi <3 see you all next time!


	10. Author Doesn't Know How to Describe Anything, R.I.P.

The trio had quite the slumber party; it was filled with laughter, pranks, cuddles, and joy. Thankfully, though, Papyrus had dozed off before the early hours of the morning.

Sans and Grillby found their way to the couch, still mindlessly watching the movie. Neither of them paid much attention to it.

"...thanks, y'know. you've done, uh, more than you ever had to."

"...I've been happy to help. I will always be happy to help."

Sans smiled. He glanced at Grillby out of the corner of his eye socket. "thanks. want me to walk you home? 'm sure you're tired, and you gotta run the bar..."

Grillby didn't respond immediately. Sans turned his head to look at him. "...Yes, that is true." A beat passed and Grillby stood. "I will come by when I have the chance, tomorrow. Get some rest, I can handle the walk home. Thank you."

"...yeah... ya sure?"

Grillby nodded.

"...ok. see ya, grillbz. thanks again." Sans shoved his hands in his pockets.

Grillby dipped his head, gathered his stuff, and quietly left.

Sans sighed and stared up at the ceiling. He listened to Papyrus snore and the movie playing softly in the background and, eventually, despite all his worries... he dozed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW, writing is hard. IDK how I've still kept to my daily deadline. But hey, double digits baby! Even though the story is kind of getting away from me, it should be fine... I'm gonna try and bring it all together. School's kind of rough right now (the semester ends on Friday- if I don't work my butt off, I'm gonna fail a couple classes), so if sometime this week I don't post, that's why. But I don't want to abandon this, dang it. Certainly I can bring the plot back into something good...
> 
> Thanks for reading! I appreciate you all. Shout out to Deku_Lily for always commenting. <3
> 
> My Tumblr is under the same user, I've been too lazy to link it still...
> 
> See ya next time!


End file.
